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We previously mentioned that our staff was working to clean and overhaul the pond and mud wallow in Yard 4. While Mara, Maia, Rana, Bambi, and Guille were in Yard 5, the workers dug a trench from the Yard 4 wallow, to allow the mud to drain fully. When the rains come, that’s the only way to empty it fully to allow us to scrape out the bottom layer of dirt and keep it clean. So, the staff drained and mucked out the pond, but had yet to fill back in the trench. 

What we didn’t realize was that a caregiver accidentally left the water running when it came time to refill the wallow. That reserve water tank holds 10,000 liters of water, so that was more than enough to fill the wallow to an overflowing state, which then also filled the trench. Now, we have a mini creek in Yard 4 running from the wallow towards Middle Road. It’s a new and fun feature for the elephants, who seem excited about the opportunity for more mud and more splashing. 

Here you can see Mara spraying herself with water as others look on. Maia and Guillermina are in the background on the right and Rana is in the background on the left. It’s possible that all took their turn in this new, novel feature. Sometimes accidents have delightful results.

P.S.: For those of you who are still wondering how Bambi is doing, she’s about 95% back to normal. She had her treatment yesterday and was enthusiastic about her reward snacks. She’s staying with her four friends in the habitat, is back to her normal diet, and her bowel movements were normal. (Who would have thought you’d know so much about elephant poop?) Bambi will still be getting some supplemental food for a little while so we can monitor her food intake. We’re all pleased to see how well she’s doing.